The world's deepest underground city, nearly 2,500 years old.

The Cappadocia region has long been famous for its eroded caves. Hundreds of underground cities exist in the area, but the most famous and largest is Derinkuyu. At a depth of over 76 meters and with a capacity of up to 20,000 people, Derinkuyu boasts a system of housing carved directly into the earth, allowing its inhabitants to live and survive in the face of invading enemies.

Mysterious sanctuary city

To this day, no one has been able to determine the exact year of its creation or which group of people actually built it. The earliest written mention of underground cities in Cappadocia comes from a Greek historian named Xenophon in 370 BC.

In his work Anabasis, Xenophon wrote: "The houses here are underground, with an opening like a well, but spacious below; there are entrances specifically for animals, and the inhabitants descend by ladder. All the animals are raised and exploited for food right in the house." Therefore, if we take 370 BC as a reference point, this city is at least nearly 2,400 years old, and its actual age is certainly much greater.

As a major trading hub between Asia and Europe, Anatolia was extremely vulnerable to invasion, and its history is marked by war and instability. Ancient peoples built and used underground cities as safe havens against foreign invaders. In 1963, during the renovation of a house above ground, some residents accidentally discovered this remarkable underground city. Upon exploring the passageways, workers gradually realized the astonishing size of the ancient city, which spanned 18 levels (to date, only 8 levels have been excavated and accessed). Researchers found kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, food storage rooms, livestock pens, oil presses, wine cellars, weapon storage areas, and even churches, schools, and tombs. Over 50 ventilation shafts are designed to bring air down from above, while thousands of smaller ducts are distributed throughout to expel air outwards.

Clearly, the underground city of Derinkuyu was the perfect plan for a self-sufficient underground life, prepared for unforeseen circumstances. Some archaeologists believe there was an 8-kilometer-long passage connecting Derinkuyu to another underground city, Kaymakli. This suggests cooperation between different civilizations in the Cappadocia region.

Unique and superior design

Millions of years ago, volcanic eruptions created thick, interconnected layers of ash called "tuff." Over time, tuff bonded to a soft rock, becoming an easily carved yet relatively stable geological formation. Ancient Anatolian inhabitants realized they could carve homes underground on these hillsides. Thus, rock-cut house complexes emerged in the Cappadocia region, with Derinkuyu being the deepest-lying underground rock "city" discovered to date.

The builders of Derinkuyu designed the underground city with security features in mind. The doors were large, disc-shaped stone slabs that could rotate, with a small hole in the center. Some speculate that this hole allowed soldiers to fire arrows, or perhaps a powerful beam of light shot through the hole, allowing users to open and close the doors more easily.

Each level of the city was connected to the next by a corridor with stone doors. The underground city also had a secure water storage system. However, the wells in the city were not interconnected, and not all of them led to the surface. This protected the inhabitants from invaders who could poison the entire water system from the outside.

Derinkuyu also helps residents avoid the extreme heat of summer and the freezing cold and snow of winter. The temperature remains fairly stable year-round at around 13 degrees Celsius, creating a cool environment for animals, as well as maintaining a supply of fresh water and keeping food fresh.

Cappadocia in general, and the city of Derinkuyu in particular, are truly remarkable underground sites that remain almost perfectly preserved. This mysterious underground city plays a significant role in the uniqueness of Turkish tourism – a land still steeped in countless ancient cultural and historical landmarks.

My Tong